I don't own Harry Potter or any of the other characters of Rowlings, other then a few I made up. I'm not doing this for money, just pleasure.
Chapter 4
The Match
Harry was now in his element, on top of his Firebolt, waiting for the Snitch to appear. He could tell that the Puddlemere Seeker Robert Davis was a little nervous. In their last match, Harry blew by him and caught the snitch so fast Robert did not know what had happened until the crowd was cheering for Harry. Robert had been known for his nerves of steel, and rarely was led astray by other Seekers trying to fool him. It was different with Harry. Put aside the fact that he destroyed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, he was incredibly fast, agile, talented, and always seemed to be having fun.
Down below, the Captains just shook hands and the balls were released. Robert looked up to see what Harry would do, but Harry had already taken off. Robert took off after him; he could not lose the match because of his stubbornness to be cool under the gun. The crowd was holding its collective breath. Robert could see Harry getting a better grip on his broom as he pulled a negative dive with a barrel roll. Robert could not see the Snitch, if there was one, as Harry was blocking his view, but he forced himself to try and pass him anyways. He rode up beside Harry. Harry looked at him, smiled and said, "Watch out for the Bludger". Just then, Harry pulled out of his dive, dodged a Bludger that had been aimed at him and sped off for the sky. Robert was not as lucky; he pulled up before crashing, but was hit in the arm by the Bludger sent by his own teammate intended for Harry.
"I'll get you for that one Harry," yelled Robert, although the only one to hear him was the crowd, because they broke out in laughter. It seemed that Harry's little stunt allowed the Cannons to score and now had possession and were setting up for another goal. Puddlemere's Captain was calling for everyone to regroup just as the Quaffle flew by him to score another point.
Oliver knew that Harry was the best seeker playing the game, and knew that Perry White, Captain of the opposing team, also knew that Harry was the best seeker this year. A few more years and he would be better than Wonski. So Oliver's plan was simple: Harry was to make them think that he was always after the Snitch. Perry would have to send his Beaters after Harry, allowing Tom and Julie to concentrate on Puddlemere's Chasers. Oliver knew that given time he could run the score up to the point that even if by some miracle Harry could not catch the Snitch, the Cannons would still win. Angelina and Alicia had protested at that plan, but Harry had just shrugged and said he would do whatever was needed.
Harry was now flying on cruise control. He had already blocked out the noise of the crowd, though he heard Ginny wishing him luck, and just listened for the noise of the Snitch, as he liked to put it. He once told a reporter that in one of his matches, he was able to hear the Snitch from across the field. This caused uproar at the Ministry. Ron was stuck three days at work doing research into that very possibility. After the three days, Harry told him he had just made it up; it was his way his way of having fun. Ron just jumped at Harry and was about to strangle him when he fell to floor. Harry had cast a sticky floor hex in front of him knowing Ron would react that way. Harry just told Ron that he was getting back at him for being such a git at school, and that he was starting to pay back everyone who'd caused him grief or trouble. Ron laughed and tried to get up, looking up to Harry when he hadn't dispelled the Hex. Harry returned the laugh and said he had made him suffer for months on end, so he would have to suffer the same. Ron just stared at him, not noticing the people hiding, and when everyone yelled Happy Birthday, Ron noticed the hex was gone and everyone had a good time. Ron overheard Harry explaining to Hermione how he had known Ron would react the way he did, and that he had cast the spell right away as Ron was busy; it was after all Harry's responsibility of distracting Ron to let the rest of the group get ready.
The hours seemed to go by, and the score was being run up. After four hours of play, the Cannons were leading 340 to 180. The Snitch made very brief appearances, to the point that even Harry now reacted when the crowd thought it saw the snitch. As the sun was starting to creep down, it was starting to get hard to see anything coming from the west side of the field. This seemed to favor Puddlemere as they started to use their Beaters to hit the Bludgers using the blinding effects of the sun to hide its flight path. This was somewhat new to the Cannons, as this was not something Oliver had trained on. When Tom was knocked off his broom and fell twenty feet, Oliver called a timeout to bring in a reserve Beater while Tom would be healed in the infirmary.
"John, you're going to take over for Tom. Now Team, the signs are indicating a long match, so if you are getting tired, to the point that you cannot stay on your broom, let me know, and we will switch you with your reserve partner."
"Captain, you have 30 seconds to get your team in the air."
"Right, remember what I said, and good luck."
The play resumed and by the time the sun had gone down and midnight was coming around, the points were almost even, with the Cannons still holding on to the lead, but barely 470-420. The referee had called a ten-minute break to allow players to switch if needed, and to turn on more the lights. All the Puddlemere's players switched, but Harry and Oliver stayed on. The wind was starting to pick up, and the signs indicated a rough evening on the way.
"What do think Harry, kind of remind you of the game back in your third year?"
"Well since I don't have to worry about the Dementors this time, I am sure to be able to stay on my broom. I am worried about our lack of practice in this environment, or even play time in the middle of the night, especially with our reserve players."
"Aye, and the fact that they seem to be dominating as the night wears on. Maybe we should try something new?"
"What are you thinking?"
"What would you think of switching to Chaser for a while? You are by far the best flyer, and the Snitch has not really been showing itself. I know you don't have enough experience of working with the rest of the team as Chaser, and it may be only for an hour or so, but even so, it might throw off their game for a bit. What I'll do is bring Jeanine in to play Seeker, this way a switch would not take long, and she has a tendency of making the other seekers keep an eye on her more then the snitch."
"That's quite devious Oliver."
"Thank you."
The switch was made, with the crowd seeming to wake from the snooze they had taken in the ten minutes the game had been stopped. The Puddlemere Captain was shocked at the change and asked for a time out to reorganize, never imagining seeing Harry Potter as a chaser. Jeanine was not a bad Seeker, compatible to his own, and she wasn't bad to look at either. But what will he do about Harry? He was by far the best flyer in the match, and probably in the league.
"All right team, this is a little new to us, but we will have to adapt. Arnold and Bill, you keep the Bludger on Harry, while Joel, you will be matched against Jeanine. Joel, did you hear me? JOEL! DID YOU HEAR ME?"
"Yeah, Yeah! Don't get so excited man."
The referee blew the whistle and match restarted. With everyone expecting Harry to run with the Quaffle, Harry faked the catch and took off to the left of the field flying in loops, pretending to shake off his pursuit. He was so fast, that Arnold, the Puddlemere Beater, hit his own player tailing Harry. Perry, the Puddlemere captain was yelling at his players that Harry did no have the Quaffle, but failed to get their notice. He sighed as he saw the Quaffle beat his replacement. He left the field and hoped to catch a few winks of sleep. In his experience, the Snitch was rarely caught at night, and with Harry playing Chaser, they had as good a chance to be refreshed, while Woods and Harry would both be tired.
The hours went by, with Harry showing no signs of slowing down. At about two in the morning, Oliver left the field for what he called a power nap. The score was now back to a good margin for the Cannons 610-500, but still not enough if the Snitch was caught. Twice Harry thought he saw the snitch, but could not communicate fast enough to Jeanine. Harry noticed that the Beaters were having a hard time concentrating on him for the moment as Jeanine decided to fly by them. Jeanine was a decent player, but it had taken a few years for teams to take her seriously, but when she tried out for the Cannons, she knew right away she had found her home.
After the first two tryouts, she had been surprised at Oliver's ability to work with women as equals, to the point that she was frustrated when she discovered she had a crush on him. Of course his ability to work with woman made it seem he did not notice her in such a way as to be possible to have a relationship outside of Quidditch. She had made the team as a reserve Chaser, with Seeker being her backup role. She thought she had a great chance to make Seeker until Oliver announced that he had gotten Harry Potter to play for the Cannons. Jeanine had never seen Harry play, and although she knew all about his role in the defeat of Lord Voldemort, she did not know a whole lot more. She had graduated the year before he started school, and never really looked back. As a Ravenclaw, it came to everyone's surprise that she decided to stay in the sport after graduating. She had been a great player at school, but always made it seem a leisure sport more then a passion. She was glad to be here, even playing the role she asked to do, because like Harry, she would catch the Snitch, or die trying; and if Harry could be asked to be a diversion so they could score goals, the least she could do was help the team. She was watching him now, this time he had the Quaffle, and was being chased by the Puddlemere Chasers. He just flew as if the world around him did not exist; his ability to focus was unparallel, as was his ability to make other people second-guess themselves when around him.
"Another goal by Harry Potter!"
Jeanine snapped out of her reverie and actively started seeking out the Snitch. At around four in the morning, the referee called another ten- minute break to allow players to change. Harry took this time to go and relieve himself. He was back up, relieved to see all the starting players back with him. Harry was looking at Oliver when he happen to let out a big yawn; Oliver saw this and got that look and was about to approach Harry, but Harry shot him a look; it said 'Don't even think about asking me to rest'. Oliver, stunned at the fierceness in his eyes, left it at that, knowing that Harry had an immense pool of energy that no one would understand. Looking at the scoreboard, he noticed that in the small time Harry played Chaser, Harry accounted for 110 of the 150 points scored. Harry also attributed to a couple of saves, when he just happen to be at the right place at the right time. His instincts had not been dulled, even after this long of play.
Back in the stands, some of the people were either passed out from drinking too much, or just over exhausted. In the Weasley's box, no one dared sleep, even though Bill was pretty much out of it. He and Charlie realized they were getting a little old when they could not keep up to Ron's cheering. Ginny seemed to be in a zone of her own. She never once took her eyes off of Harry, only going to the loo when Harry took his break. With all the yelling and cheering she had been doing, it was amazing she still had a voice left. Her mom had helped her with some revitalization potions she had brought along. 'I remember your Dad had played one match that had gone into the night back at school, and I remembered how much you can lose your voice when your cheering your man,' Mrs. Weasley said to her daughter. Ginny blushed a little at this, but thanked her nonetheless.
The match restarted with as much energy as it had when the match first started, yesterday afternoon. It didn't take long for the Bludger to start coming after Harry. The Snitch still hadn't shown up, and the match quickly came to a stall. False dawn was playing havoc with everyone's senses, even Harry.
"Look out Harry!" Harry heard, more in his mind then his ears. Harry dove down, but not before the Bludger hit him in his left arm. He kept on flying as if the Bludger never even touched him; he did a Loop de Loop just to prove it. Harry just waved at Oliver to tell him he was fine, and the play continued. The Puddlemere Beaters were curious as to how they missed him, but figured they at least have his attention and continued after him. Harry kind of mentioned in passing to Julie that maybe they could help out a little in keeping the Bludger off him. She agreed with a apprehensive look, as she knew they could do a better job of keeping the bludger off of Harry, and felt guilty as they had time to nap, while he never stopped. Julie attacked with a vengeance, moving with renewed determination to keep Harry safe.
Harry flew off and knew his arm was broken; he could feel the arm swelling and knew that sooner more then later, he would need to stop before passing out. He maneuvered around so as to place his cloak to hide the fact his arm was tucked in, and knew sooner or later Oliver would notice and get his player off the field. The sun was about ready to break over the horizon, so Harry flew to the east side of the field so as to not be blinded. Robert, Puddlemere's seeker followed suit. The sun crested like a bomb going off; both the light and the heat caused by it had a physical effect on everything. The stands and spectators took on the color of red and orange, with people either waking up to a new and beautiful day, or merely soaking in the fact they were up for most or the entire match overnight. Quickly, the smell of bacon made its way around, with Harry feeling the effects of the lack of food with a rumble from his stomach. Harry was looking towards Ginny and the rest of the Weasleys hen he happen upon the second most beautiful creature on this earth, (as Ginny was the most). Right in front of the Weasleys, was the Snitch.
Harry took off, with Robert on his heels. Harry's cloak slipped a little, revealing him holding his arm tight to his chest. The crowd held there breath as Robert, noticing this, smiled as he started to pass Harry. Without both hands on his broom, Harry could not out fly Robert. Harry knew this, Robert knew this, Oliver knew this, and so did the rest of the crowd. Harry started to feel bad; he had deliberately jeopardized his team's ability to win by holding out from leaving. He loathed himself for being so self-centered he almost missed the fact Robert was getting ready to dive after the Snitch. The last thing he saw before diving, was Ginny looking at him with no emotion, save the words she mouthed. 'Get it!' Harry knew what he had to do. Willing his broken arm to grab the broom, he leaned forward and dove down to follow Robert. He still had his eye on the Snitch, but knew that Robert would catch it if he did not hurry. They were both traveling at an incredibly fast speed, knowing that the ground was coming quickly. Neither gave up an inch, willing to die trying to catch it; the alternative was living with the fact they had survived without catching it. At the last minute, the Snitch pulled from its dive, and without missing a beat, the seekers followed suit, expecting that from the Snitch. They were now traveling a few feet from the ground, with Harry now having caught up to Robert. Both were leaning as far forward as was possible without crashing down. Harry, knowing that he could not keep it up any longer did the only that came to mind; he jumped off his broom. The only problem was that he was traveling about as fast as a broom could handle, and the ground was right there. He tucked his arms and legs in, turning him into a ball and hit the ground rolling. From up above, he looked like a cannonball rolling towards the stands. Harry sensed his coming doom as the stands drew closer, so he opened himself up to slow down. The last thing he remembered was thinking it would be great to have a cushioning spell cast on all the sides of the stands to prevent injuries of this sort; of course not too many players jump off their broom. Someone must have thought about it because when Harry hit the wall, it looked like it swallowed him whole before spitting him out.
Harry just lay there, looking like a broken doll thrown out to the garbage. His team charged towards him, approaching him delicately, trying not break him any further. In the background, the noise from the crowd was deafening, while the announcer calling this one of the best matches he had seen in ages. The Cannons Have Won the Cup! Making there way down to the ground were the Weasleys with Ginny leading the charge. The field nurses had already gotten to Harry and were checking his pulse when Ginny burst through the crowd that had gathered. She saw him there, breathing, but unconscious, The Snitch held firmly in his right hand. When the nurse tried to pull the Snitch out of his hand, she found his grip to be the strong, and even with the help of the other nurse, they could not get him to release it. Finally, Harry's eyes opened and he looked around a little confused. Hermione summoned Harry's glasses, repaired them and handed it to him. "Thanks," Harry said, as he tried to stand.
"I don't think so young man, not before some Skele-Grow." said one of the nurses.
One of the reporters finally made it through. "Harry, how does it feel to win?"
"Good"
"Do you have anything to say about the match?"
Harry looked around until he focused on Ron; he him threw him the Snitch a grunt, "Keep it for me." Ron caught it and placed it immidietly in his pocket for safe keeping.
"Well, anything about the match?", asked the reporter again.
"The only things I want to say can be said in 5 words."
"And what would that be?"
Reaching tenderly into his cloak with his right hand, he pulled out a small box. By now, his hands were shaking from exhaustion and he was having trouble focusing as his head was pounding. He opened the small box, took out a beautiful ring, with a diamond cut out like a Snitch, and said" Ginny, will you marry me?"
At this point Ginny was crying, along with Mrs Weasley, Hermione, Fleur, and even some of the players.
"Yes I would, Harry."
Harry placed the ring on her finger and they kissed, for a long time, although to them, time always stood still when they kissed; no one seemed to mind. After a while, one of the nurses coughed and said, "we really need to get him to the infirmary."
Harry looked at Ginny and whispered to her, "I love you", then completely passing out.
A/N I'm not sure if anyone is reading this, and if so, I'm sorry it's taking so long to write, but a promotion is causing much more work then I anticipated.
Chapter 4
The Match
Harry was now in his element, on top of his Firebolt, waiting for the Snitch to appear. He could tell that the Puddlemere Seeker Robert Davis was a little nervous. In their last match, Harry blew by him and caught the snitch so fast Robert did not know what had happened until the crowd was cheering for Harry. Robert had been known for his nerves of steel, and rarely was led astray by other Seekers trying to fool him. It was different with Harry. Put aside the fact that he destroyed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, he was incredibly fast, agile, talented, and always seemed to be having fun.
Down below, the Captains just shook hands and the balls were released. Robert looked up to see what Harry would do, but Harry had already taken off. Robert took off after him; he could not lose the match because of his stubbornness to be cool under the gun. The crowd was holding its collective breath. Robert could see Harry getting a better grip on his broom as he pulled a negative dive with a barrel roll. Robert could not see the Snitch, if there was one, as Harry was blocking his view, but he forced himself to try and pass him anyways. He rode up beside Harry. Harry looked at him, smiled and said, "Watch out for the Bludger". Just then, Harry pulled out of his dive, dodged a Bludger that had been aimed at him and sped off for the sky. Robert was not as lucky; he pulled up before crashing, but was hit in the arm by the Bludger sent by his own teammate intended for Harry.
"I'll get you for that one Harry," yelled Robert, although the only one to hear him was the crowd, because they broke out in laughter. It seemed that Harry's little stunt allowed the Cannons to score and now had possession and were setting up for another goal. Puddlemere's Captain was calling for everyone to regroup just as the Quaffle flew by him to score another point.
Oliver knew that Harry was the best seeker playing the game, and knew that Perry White, Captain of the opposing team, also knew that Harry was the best seeker this year. A few more years and he would be better than Wonski. So Oliver's plan was simple: Harry was to make them think that he was always after the Snitch. Perry would have to send his Beaters after Harry, allowing Tom and Julie to concentrate on Puddlemere's Chasers. Oliver knew that given time he could run the score up to the point that even if by some miracle Harry could not catch the Snitch, the Cannons would still win. Angelina and Alicia had protested at that plan, but Harry had just shrugged and said he would do whatever was needed.
Harry was now flying on cruise control. He had already blocked out the noise of the crowd, though he heard Ginny wishing him luck, and just listened for the noise of the Snitch, as he liked to put it. He once told a reporter that in one of his matches, he was able to hear the Snitch from across the field. This caused uproar at the Ministry. Ron was stuck three days at work doing research into that very possibility. After the three days, Harry told him he had just made it up; it was his way his way of having fun. Ron just jumped at Harry and was about to strangle him when he fell to floor. Harry had cast a sticky floor hex in front of him knowing Ron would react that way. Harry just told Ron that he was getting back at him for being such a git at school, and that he was starting to pay back everyone who'd caused him grief or trouble. Ron laughed and tried to get up, looking up to Harry when he hadn't dispelled the Hex. Harry returned the laugh and said he had made him suffer for months on end, so he would have to suffer the same. Ron just stared at him, not noticing the people hiding, and when everyone yelled Happy Birthday, Ron noticed the hex was gone and everyone had a good time. Ron overheard Harry explaining to Hermione how he had known Ron would react the way he did, and that he had cast the spell right away as Ron was busy; it was after all Harry's responsibility of distracting Ron to let the rest of the group get ready.
The hours seemed to go by, and the score was being run up. After four hours of play, the Cannons were leading 340 to 180. The Snitch made very brief appearances, to the point that even Harry now reacted when the crowd thought it saw the snitch. As the sun was starting to creep down, it was starting to get hard to see anything coming from the west side of the field. This seemed to favor Puddlemere as they started to use their Beaters to hit the Bludgers using the blinding effects of the sun to hide its flight path. This was somewhat new to the Cannons, as this was not something Oliver had trained on. When Tom was knocked off his broom and fell twenty feet, Oliver called a timeout to bring in a reserve Beater while Tom would be healed in the infirmary.
"John, you're going to take over for Tom. Now Team, the signs are indicating a long match, so if you are getting tired, to the point that you cannot stay on your broom, let me know, and we will switch you with your reserve partner."
"Captain, you have 30 seconds to get your team in the air."
"Right, remember what I said, and good luck."
The play resumed and by the time the sun had gone down and midnight was coming around, the points were almost even, with the Cannons still holding on to the lead, but barely 470-420. The referee had called a ten-minute break to allow players to switch if needed, and to turn on more the lights. All the Puddlemere's players switched, but Harry and Oliver stayed on. The wind was starting to pick up, and the signs indicated a rough evening on the way.
"What do think Harry, kind of remind you of the game back in your third year?"
"Well since I don't have to worry about the Dementors this time, I am sure to be able to stay on my broom. I am worried about our lack of practice in this environment, or even play time in the middle of the night, especially with our reserve players."
"Aye, and the fact that they seem to be dominating as the night wears on. Maybe we should try something new?"
"What are you thinking?"
"What would you think of switching to Chaser for a while? You are by far the best flyer, and the Snitch has not really been showing itself. I know you don't have enough experience of working with the rest of the team as Chaser, and it may be only for an hour or so, but even so, it might throw off their game for a bit. What I'll do is bring Jeanine in to play Seeker, this way a switch would not take long, and she has a tendency of making the other seekers keep an eye on her more then the snitch."
"That's quite devious Oliver."
"Thank you."
The switch was made, with the crowd seeming to wake from the snooze they had taken in the ten minutes the game had been stopped. The Puddlemere Captain was shocked at the change and asked for a time out to reorganize, never imagining seeing Harry Potter as a chaser. Jeanine was not a bad Seeker, compatible to his own, and she wasn't bad to look at either. But what will he do about Harry? He was by far the best flyer in the match, and probably in the league.
"All right team, this is a little new to us, but we will have to adapt. Arnold and Bill, you keep the Bludger on Harry, while Joel, you will be matched against Jeanine. Joel, did you hear me? JOEL! DID YOU HEAR ME?"
"Yeah, Yeah! Don't get so excited man."
The referee blew the whistle and match restarted. With everyone expecting Harry to run with the Quaffle, Harry faked the catch and took off to the left of the field flying in loops, pretending to shake off his pursuit. He was so fast, that Arnold, the Puddlemere Beater, hit his own player tailing Harry. Perry, the Puddlemere captain was yelling at his players that Harry did no have the Quaffle, but failed to get their notice. He sighed as he saw the Quaffle beat his replacement. He left the field and hoped to catch a few winks of sleep. In his experience, the Snitch was rarely caught at night, and with Harry playing Chaser, they had as good a chance to be refreshed, while Woods and Harry would both be tired.
The hours went by, with Harry showing no signs of slowing down. At about two in the morning, Oliver left the field for what he called a power nap. The score was now back to a good margin for the Cannons 610-500, but still not enough if the Snitch was caught. Twice Harry thought he saw the snitch, but could not communicate fast enough to Jeanine. Harry noticed that the Beaters were having a hard time concentrating on him for the moment as Jeanine decided to fly by them. Jeanine was a decent player, but it had taken a few years for teams to take her seriously, but when she tried out for the Cannons, she knew right away she had found her home.
After the first two tryouts, she had been surprised at Oliver's ability to work with women as equals, to the point that she was frustrated when she discovered she had a crush on him. Of course his ability to work with woman made it seem he did not notice her in such a way as to be possible to have a relationship outside of Quidditch. She had made the team as a reserve Chaser, with Seeker being her backup role. She thought she had a great chance to make Seeker until Oliver announced that he had gotten Harry Potter to play for the Cannons. Jeanine had never seen Harry play, and although she knew all about his role in the defeat of Lord Voldemort, she did not know a whole lot more. She had graduated the year before he started school, and never really looked back. As a Ravenclaw, it came to everyone's surprise that she decided to stay in the sport after graduating. She had been a great player at school, but always made it seem a leisure sport more then a passion. She was glad to be here, even playing the role she asked to do, because like Harry, she would catch the Snitch, or die trying; and if Harry could be asked to be a diversion so they could score goals, the least she could do was help the team. She was watching him now, this time he had the Quaffle, and was being chased by the Puddlemere Chasers. He just flew as if the world around him did not exist; his ability to focus was unparallel, as was his ability to make other people second-guess themselves when around him.
"Another goal by Harry Potter!"
Jeanine snapped out of her reverie and actively started seeking out the Snitch. At around four in the morning, the referee called another ten- minute break to allow players to change. Harry took this time to go and relieve himself. He was back up, relieved to see all the starting players back with him. Harry was looking at Oliver when he happen to let out a big yawn; Oliver saw this and got that look and was about to approach Harry, but Harry shot him a look; it said 'Don't even think about asking me to rest'. Oliver, stunned at the fierceness in his eyes, left it at that, knowing that Harry had an immense pool of energy that no one would understand. Looking at the scoreboard, he noticed that in the small time Harry played Chaser, Harry accounted for 110 of the 150 points scored. Harry also attributed to a couple of saves, when he just happen to be at the right place at the right time. His instincts had not been dulled, even after this long of play.
Back in the stands, some of the people were either passed out from drinking too much, or just over exhausted. In the Weasley's box, no one dared sleep, even though Bill was pretty much out of it. He and Charlie realized they were getting a little old when they could not keep up to Ron's cheering. Ginny seemed to be in a zone of her own. She never once took her eyes off of Harry, only going to the loo when Harry took his break. With all the yelling and cheering she had been doing, it was amazing she still had a voice left. Her mom had helped her with some revitalization potions she had brought along. 'I remember your Dad had played one match that had gone into the night back at school, and I remembered how much you can lose your voice when your cheering your man,' Mrs. Weasley said to her daughter. Ginny blushed a little at this, but thanked her nonetheless.
The match restarted with as much energy as it had when the match first started, yesterday afternoon. It didn't take long for the Bludger to start coming after Harry. The Snitch still hadn't shown up, and the match quickly came to a stall. False dawn was playing havoc with everyone's senses, even Harry.
"Look out Harry!" Harry heard, more in his mind then his ears. Harry dove down, but not before the Bludger hit him in his left arm. He kept on flying as if the Bludger never even touched him; he did a Loop de Loop just to prove it. Harry just waved at Oliver to tell him he was fine, and the play continued. The Puddlemere Beaters were curious as to how they missed him, but figured they at least have his attention and continued after him. Harry kind of mentioned in passing to Julie that maybe they could help out a little in keeping the Bludger off him. She agreed with a apprehensive look, as she knew they could do a better job of keeping the bludger off of Harry, and felt guilty as they had time to nap, while he never stopped. Julie attacked with a vengeance, moving with renewed determination to keep Harry safe.
Harry flew off and knew his arm was broken; he could feel the arm swelling and knew that sooner more then later, he would need to stop before passing out. He maneuvered around so as to place his cloak to hide the fact his arm was tucked in, and knew sooner or later Oliver would notice and get his player off the field. The sun was about ready to break over the horizon, so Harry flew to the east side of the field so as to not be blinded. Robert, Puddlemere's seeker followed suit. The sun crested like a bomb going off; both the light and the heat caused by it had a physical effect on everything. The stands and spectators took on the color of red and orange, with people either waking up to a new and beautiful day, or merely soaking in the fact they were up for most or the entire match overnight. Quickly, the smell of bacon made its way around, with Harry feeling the effects of the lack of food with a rumble from his stomach. Harry was looking towards Ginny and the rest of the Weasleys hen he happen upon the second most beautiful creature on this earth, (as Ginny was the most). Right in front of the Weasleys, was the Snitch.
Harry took off, with Robert on his heels. Harry's cloak slipped a little, revealing him holding his arm tight to his chest. The crowd held there breath as Robert, noticing this, smiled as he started to pass Harry. Without both hands on his broom, Harry could not out fly Robert. Harry knew this, Robert knew this, Oliver knew this, and so did the rest of the crowd. Harry started to feel bad; he had deliberately jeopardized his team's ability to win by holding out from leaving. He loathed himself for being so self-centered he almost missed the fact Robert was getting ready to dive after the Snitch. The last thing he saw before diving, was Ginny looking at him with no emotion, save the words she mouthed. 'Get it!' Harry knew what he had to do. Willing his broken arm to grab the broom, he leaned forward and dove down to follow Robert. He still had his eye on the Snitch, but knew that Robert would catch it if he did not hurry. They were both traveling at an incredibly fast speed, knowing that the ground was coming quickly. Neither gave up an inch, willing to die trying to catch it; the alternative was living with the fact they had survived without catching it. At the last minute, the Snitch pulled from its dive, and without missing a beat, the seekers followed suit, expecting that from the Snitch. They were now traveling a few feet from the ground, with Harry now having caught up to Robert. Both were leaning as far forward as was possible without crashing down. Harry, knowing that he could not keep it up any longer did the only that came to mind; he jumped off his broom. The only problem was that he was traveling about as fast as a broom could handle, and the ground was right there. He tucked his arms and legs in, turning him into a ball and hit the ground rolling. From up above, he looked like a cannonball rolling towards the stands. Harry sensed his coming doom as the stands drew closer, so he opened himself up to slow down. The last thing he remembered was thinking it would be great to have a cushioning spell cast on all the sides of the stands to prevent injuries of this sort; of course not too many players jump off their broom. Someone must have thought about it because when Harry hit the wall, it looked like it swallowed him whole before spitting him out.
Harry just lay there, looking like a broken doll thrown out to the garbage. His team charged towards him, approaching him delicately, trying not break him any further. In the background, the noise from the crowd was deafening, while the announcer calling this one of the best matches he had seen in ages. The Cannons Have Won the Cup! Making there way down to the ground were the Weasleys with Ginny leading the charge. The field nurses had already gotten to Harry and were checking his pulse when Ginny burst through the crowd that had gathered. She saw him there, breathing, but unconscious, The Snitch held firmly in his right hand. When the nurse tried to pull the Snitch out of his hand, she found his grip to be the strong, and even with the help of the other nurse, they could not get him to release it. Finally, Harry's eyes opened and he looked around a little confused. Hermione summoned Harry's glasses, repaired them and handed it to him. "Thanks," Harry said, as he tried to stand.
"I don't think so young man, not before some Skele-Grow." said one of the nurses.
One of the reporters finally made it through. "Harry, how does it feel to win?"
"Good"
"Do you have anything to say about the match?"
Harry looked around until he focused on Ron; he him threw him the Snitch a grunt, "Keep it for me." Ron caught it and placed it immidietly in his pocket for safe keeping.
"Well, anything about the match?", asked the reporter again.
"The only things I want to say can be said in 5 words."
"And what would that be?"
Reaching tenderly into his cloak with his right hand, he pulled out a small box. By now, his hands were shaking from exhaustion and he was having trouble focusing as his head was pounding. He opened the small box, took out a beautiful ring, with a diamond cut out like a Snitch, and said" Ginny, will you marry me?"
At this point Ginny was crying, along with Mrs Weasley, Hermione, Fleur, and even some of the players.
"Yes I would, Harry."
Harry placed the ring on her finger and they kissed, for a long time, although to them, time always stood still when they kissed; no one seemed to mind. After a while, one of the nurses coughed and said, "we really need to get him to the infirmary."
Harry looked at Ginny and whispered to her, "I love you", then completely passing out.
A/N I'm not sure if anyone is reading this, and if so, I'm sorry it's taking so long to write, but a promotion is causing much more work then I anticipated.
